Few More Hours Sleep
by AnonymouslyAddicted
Summary: "When the weight of the world breaks down so strong it leaves footprints on the street, and theres too many miles to face without a few more hours sleep. The storm clouds overhead won't shed any rain to quench your thirst. I wanna be the one you reach for first" - Sugarland.


**A/N** : This has been in my head since 2.15, but I never got around to writing it. Then it was also a struggle (surprising, huh?), because I'm not sure about how the actual conversation between them went, as he later did join DIA. I don't know if I did this story-line any justice, but I had to get it out. It's angst, though I swear I wanted it to be fluff. I managed to pull this off at the end though, so I hope it counts. Also, sorry for any typos of any kind, I'm a bit wuzzy from the drugs. Reviews bright my day, so kindly leave me one!

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 **Few More Hours Sleep**

Sitting on the chair, Elizabeth was watching him breathe heavily. He was pale and he looked so small suddenly. Her mighty husband, the strong man who always carried her – quite literally – looked like a child now, curved into a ball, trying to snuggle under the covers. Henry was so rarely sick. He usually knew how to tough it up, being a strong marine, it was beneath him to give in to any kind of sickness. This was probably a first, seeing him like this. She always teased him that he was so different than any man she ever knew – he wasn't above crying, especially when it involved her or the kids, but he was certainly above being sick.

She couldn't sit by. There was nothing she could do to help him, but she just couldn't sit by. Moving to lie next to him, she pulled the covers over him, trying to warm his shivering body. He glanced at her for a second, a silent thank you as he crawled further into her and allowed the warmth of her body surround him. She rested her hand gently on his cheek, her thumb soothing his skin. Resting her head against her palm, she lied still and looked at him, trying to reconcile with the image of him, an image she has never seen before. She listened as his breathing slowed, as his body lied still next to her. She kissed the top of his head softly, feeling the warmth of his skin against her lips. Carefully, she got out of bed and with one final glance at him, she closed the bathroom door behind her. As she stood naked, waiting for the water to heat, the tears began to stream down her face, silent at first, but quickly turning into loud sobs. She buried her face in her hands, trying to muffle the sound of her cries, to dry the tears that wouldn't stop.

She jumped when the door opened quickly, when Henry rushed inside to make it in time to empty his stomach. She dried her tears quickly, needing to hide this from him. Last thing he needed was to worry about her, to comfort her. She bent down to him, resting her hand on his back, gently stroking, soothing him. She helped him to the sink, allowing him to lean against her. She washed his face and gave him a glass of water, and then slowly led him back to the bed, placing him under the covers, tucking the blanket under his chin.

Turning around to return to the shower, she felt the grip of his hand on hers. He was weak, she could feel it in his hold, so different from the firm hand he always had for her, missing the comfort of his solid presence. "Please, stay" he muttered, his voice so low she barely heard him.

She nodded, lying next to him again, allowing him to settle against her body. She watched as his eyes closed slowly, as his chest moved with every deep breath he took. Silently waiting for him to fall back to sleep, she stared into space, the tears wetting her cheeks. She closed her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat. She wouldn't let him know how _broken_ she is, she couldn't. She felt him squeeze her hand and she glanced at him; his eyes still closed, his breathing still heavy. "Talk to me" the words barely left his mouth, and each syllable carried so much pain.

"Shh" she whispered, running her hand through his thick hair, "everything will be alright baby, just sleep".

He nodded, too weak to argue with her. Sleep took over quickly and he finally settled calmly against the pillows. She slipped from the bed quietly and made her way back to the shower. Under the stream of boiling water, she allowed herself to break again, to finally let the stress of the day surface. She no longer had to play brave, she no longer had to keep it together. She couldn't. She was alone, finally, and it was at that moment that she realized she could've been _alone_ for an eternity. Her heart began to race at that thought, and through her sobs she tried to gain control of the escalating situation. She closed her eyes and leaned against the cold tiles, taking deep breaths in order to keep the panic at bay.

With one last sigh, she finally emerged from the shower, reaching for the towel and wrapping it around herself. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, blurred by the steams that filled the room. Her eyes puffy, her nose red; she suddenly looked older, the toll showing its signs on her face as new wrinkles appeared at the side of her eyes. Washing her face with cold water, she moved away from that image. It was painful enough without seeing what it was causing.

She dressed quickly, shivering slightly as the fabric touched her skin. It wasn't cold, but the touch felt foreign; she missed the feeling of the touch of his hands against her. She moved silently back into the room, to her side of the bed, gentle not to wake him. She closed her eyes, but she could not sleep. The images of him lying on the hospital bed, hooked to machines that helped him breathe, kept flashing before her eyes, reminding her of those horrible hours when she didn't know what will be his fate. She couldn't bear the thought of him going back to the line of fire. She won't be able to handle the scare of losing him again.

Interrupting her thoughts, he jumped out of bed again, rushing to the bathroom as the nausea took over. She jumped as well, following him inside, holding him against her as he emptied his stomach once again. Repeating her previous motions, she helped him back to bed yet again and he pulled her with him, wrapping his arms around her. She snuggled closer, letting her head rest against his pillow, feeling his hot breath against her face. His eyes closed quickly, and she surrendered to the fatigue as well. But sleep was illusive, and she couldn't quiet her mind, her worry.

He was still against her until the early hours of the dawn. It was then that his eyes opened slowly, meeting the clear blue eyes of her staring at him. His eyes clouded the minute he realized she didn't sleep; when he saw the traces of the pain he caused her. "Elizabeth" he breathed her name, sending shivers down her spine. "I'm not going to let anything hurt us. I will never stop loving you".

"Don't you see that it already did?"

"No. It's nothing we couldn't handle. And I'm going to stay away this time, from anything that collides with your work. I don't want to be involved. But please, baby. You have to understand. I was standing there when the bomb exploded. Me, and our three children. And I rushed them outside, and it was the only protection I had to offer them. Others weren't as lucky. Others didn't have any protection to offer to their loved ones. I can't stand by. I can't sleep at night knowing there is more I can do to help prevent this. I will quit this job in a heartbeat if it threatens what we have".

She scorned at his words, rolling her eyes. Untangling herself from his hold, she left the bed, needing to distance herself for his vain promises. "Don't say that when you don't mean it, Henry. I meant it when I said it. I did. But you… I told you that it is _threatening_ us. It did. It nearly cost us our marriage. And here you are, willing to throw this relationship away. I am not disregarding your motives, but I would appreciate if you gave it a thought before dismissing everything that I said. Before ignoring my feelings".

Walking over to her, he pulled her to his embrace and her body immediately relaxed against him. She hated that he had such power over her, especially after almost losing him. "Is this only about the DIA?" he asked.

"I nearly lost you" she mumbled, ducking her head as fresh tears pooled at her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, letting her bury her face in his chest. He pressed a kiss to her hair, feeling her hands gripping the sides of his body as she broke down and cried in his arms. His body betraying him, he almost fell as his legs suddenly felt weak, causing her to tare herself from his hold. She wiped her tears, her face wearing concern. She took his arm and placed it on her shoulder, making him lean against her as she walked him back to the bed. "We can talk about this later, you need to rest".

"Elizabeth, don't baby me. We need to talk about this".

"I'm not! You can barely stand, you spent the entire night running to the bathroom to throw up. This will be here when you feel better".

"That's exactly the problem!" he shouted, startling her and himself with his reaction. "I don't want you to feel this way" his tone was low again, his eyes apologizing.

"Then don't go Henry. But I can't ask you to do that, we don't work that way. So, just drop it okay? Rest, please. I need you to at least get better".

He sighed. This was an argument neither one of them was going to win, and he refused to hurt her more. He reached for her hand, pulling her to sit next to him in bed. "I need you to never forget that I love you, can you do that?"

She nodded, moving closer to him, allowing him to pull her to his embrace again. "And I need you to know you were the only thing on my mind when I was at the ambulance, and then at the hospital. You and the kids. The thought of leaving you alone… I'm sorry you had to go through this".

"Can we call it even and stop putting each other through these scares?"

"I would love that" he laughed, pulling her to lie with him. She landed half on top of him, and he used the opportunity to kiss her tenderly, feeling her melting to his touch, to his lips dancing on hers.

"Close your eyes and lie with me" he muttered, "we still have a few more hours sleep".

She nodded, and it was suddenly so easy to fall asleep in his arms, to leave her worries for when the morning comes. _A few more hours sleep_ , where nothing could harm them.


End file.
